Innovations not only need good ideas, but also money. Young companies and spin-offs from Hessian universities in particular still have very little financial resources. For this reason, and for the long-term success of innovations, public investment instruments and venture capital (VC) as well as business angels play an important role in financing. The Hessian Digital Ministry therefore invited those responsible for projects funded by the “Distr@l – Strengthening Digitization – Living Transfer” program to Biebrich Castle today for the “Innovation meets Finance” specialist event. The approximately 180 participants were able to find out about financing options and instruments and exchange ideas – with investors and other project managers. Since some of the funded companies also use equity capital from the Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen (BM H), the event was again organized and held in cooperation with BM H.
“With Distr@l, we set a new benchmark in 2019 that was and is absolutely future-oriented from a current perspective. There are enormous differences in the level of digitization in companies, which can potentially determine further economic success. The right framework conditions that politicians must set here and targeted and needs-based support for digital innovations through a state program are therefore a must. This is the only way we can manage these fundamental changes in order to ensure the competitiveness of our companies. In order to maintain the momentum for innovation in Hesse, however, accompanying or further financing must be made possible in addition to funding. So take the opportunity today to make direct contacts and exchange ideas,” said Digital Minister Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus in her welcoming address.
Six companies presented their funding projects
Six companies also presented their funding projects at the event. Among others, the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences showed an assistant robot that can provide support in assisted living. With the BlueSwarm project, the TU Darmstadt presented how vehicle damage can be documented by evaluating images from a swarm of quadcopters using machine learning. The Department of Environmentally Friendly Products and Processes at the University of Kassel has developed an automatic and intelligent platform to transform companies into climate-friendly businesses.
In a round table discussion, the minister also discussed the topic of “Transformation through innovation – digital innovations strengthen our companies” with Dr. Steffen Huth, Managing Director of BM H, entrepreneur Dr. Judith Kölzer-Söding, Supervisory Board Member of KfW Capital, and Benedict Boos, Managing Director of Cyreen GmbH, which is funded by Distr@l.
Dr. Steffen Huth: “In times of economic uncertainty and general reluctance to invest, public venture capital is important for young and innovative companies in order to finance digitization and transformation projects as well as company growth and thus strengthen Hesse as a location in the long term. We invest up to 10 million euros per company flexibly and as needed throughout the entire company life cycle.”
Extraordinary technological transformation phase
Dr. Judith Kölzer-Söding: “We are in an extraordinary phase of technological transformation. This requires enormous capital. Instruments such as the German Growth Fund are an example of how public and private capital can be mobilized to further stimulate investment in innovation. More of this!”
Benedict Boos: “For a healthy economy and secure jobs, innovation and courageous entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks, even if failure is possible, are essential. Despite promising approaches, we would still like to see more targeted support through financing that supports companies in all growth phases.”
About Distr@l
The Distr@l funding program was launched at the end of 2019 and is running extremely successfully. Distr@l is geared towards research and development projects that significantly increase the state of the art. Distr@l is deliberately set up with four funding lines across sectors and topics in order to enable digital transformation in business and society in a target group-oriented manner. So far, a total of 152 projects with a funding volume of 46 million euros have been selected for funding as part of a best-of-breeding process. So far, a total of around 25 million euros have been provided by the business world to co-finance the projects. The Distr@l funding volume is around 10 million euros per year.
